Reserved, almost shy, Cosimo Fini, alias Gué, appears in white overalls, a smile and I would say unexpected kindness. He wants to tell his story, to remember how far he had to travel to get to where he is today, the sacrifices, not having money, having fought to get on stage. His songs are thought out songs, nothing is left to chance, every metaphor is intentional, every quote inserted with poetic delicacy, almost in contrast with the prejudices associated with the rap genre, sometimes raw and full of terms, how to say... explicit.
Gué, I would like to talk about you, naturally also through your music, to make you known, to be able to go beyond the photographs we see in the newspapers or music videos... also because you live here and therefore anyone could meet you...
«Don't worry, don't worry (she smiles), I'm not embarrassed to talk about myself, I know you're interviewing me because I live in Ticino and not because I sing (we laugh). You know they took a picture of me for the cover where I look super serious? When I showed it to my mom she said: 'You look like an internet guro'».
Since you mentioned your mum… what is your relationship with your family?
«I only have my mother, my father hasn't been there for three years and I have a good relationship with her, I see her often, she comes to visit me, we are close and I'm happy about it. Now I'm in Lugano, where I've found a fantastic base to live, since I'm always on the road for work, but in any case once a week I go to Milan, where I record, and so if my mum doesn't come to see me in Ticino I'll go to she.
(A spontaneous pause) Then you know... I also had a little girl, just a year ago, and even if she lives with her mother, the idea is to be able to have her here with me, to watch her grow and appreciate every moment».
And how did you experience becoming a father…
“It's something so extraordinary that I haven't fully realized it yet. Maybe also because the little girl is very small and at the moment there isn't much interaction, but little by little we are getting closer, I like to observe all the changes in her: now she looks at me, she smiles, we laugh… it's wonderful ».
You will be 25 on December 42, what memories do you have of Gué as a child?
“I was quite an introspective child. My father was a journalist and my mother worked in the cinema, so I grew up in a family that was not rich, but where culture was at home, you could breathe it. I went to classical high school, I read a lot but then I went in the opposite direction: I fell in love with music, of all genres. The point is that what my parents passed on to me and what I learned during my studies influenced and marked my whole life, you can perceive it from my texts, from my words».
Did you also play?
«No, I've never played, but I'm a nerd of music, I know many records, singers, I can say that I have a broad musical culture. I lived in the United States, in South America, I have never limited myself to just listening, I liked and like to analyse, experiment, create and then try again, trying to improve and avoid static and boring. I don't want to take anything away from my fellow rappers, but it must be said: today's market allows you to make yourself known very quickly and to earn a lot of money quickly, in my day it wasn't like that, you had to gain experience before getting on stage and I want to remember this mess tin every day. I am grateful to life, to my audience for what I managed to achieve».
Your songs have depth, perhaps you had a less rapid climb, but you are still today an important face of hip hop at an international level…
«I'll say it again, nothing was given to me, culture must be cultivated by studying, even today I take the time to go to New York to discover new trends, I know that for some people talking about hip hop culture is exaggerated, but it's starting to feel forty years and there is a world behind it, it is not something that belongs to the street, it has an important history and great value».
Do you write your lyrics?
«Yes, absolutely and I care a lot. I write the lyrics because I'm still one of the few who - despite having sold many records - remains faithful to the genre and I like to think about my songs. You know… when you write a rap text you put yourself into it, it's very personal, your voice comes out, your personality and you live it from your point of view. Many work with authors, if you look in America the big names use phrases from others, as if having an author were a matter of state; so, if you are very famous, you can afford it. I don't want to condemn those who do it, maybe I happen to use the words of others in the choruses, but the verse is mine, it comes from me and the words are mine and I want it to stay that way».
But when you think, see, imagine, do you already rap? A bit like poets do…
«I come from a school of the 90s, I'm very attached to metaphors, I use the same figures that poets use, even if, let's face it, in a dirtier way. In my texts I insert assonances, similarities, I refer to art, films and when I go around I see or hear something I like, I write it down on my cell phone. I like writing so much that I never get tired, I don't need breaks or holidays, I always think about the words of my songs, it's like I'm in a continuous production flow. The day will undoubtedly come when I will stop, but as long as I feel this creativity I want to take advantage of it or rather, enjoy it, because it gives me great satisfaction, I feel fulfilled».
Gué, do you think rap is a passing trend?
«Clearly you are talking about Italy… because in the rest of the world half of the market has belonged to hip hop for several decades. In Italy rap actually arrived later, it had a first boom during the 90s, late 90s, let's think of Article 31, Fabri Fibra... now there are many names, there are different waves, as in everything, therefore even the music is renewed, with ups and downs, but then it always comes back... and for rap it will be the same thing».
And what about the way of dressing, the tattoos, can we still talk about rap style?
«The codes linked to the way of dressing, to tattoos as tributes, are a somewhat old-fashioned vision – excuse my frankness. Now everyone has these (he looks at his tattooed arm), they no longer belong to a genre, just like clothes. In the 90s you immediately identified a rapper or a rocker, now streetwear is a trend, even the big names offer it, so each of us can choose his clothing, individually, without obligations or stereotypes ».
Let's go back to your connection with Ticino, why did you decide to move here, after all, Milan offers much more…
«I was born and raised in Milan, but growing up I started having friends, club owners, who were based in Lugano. My dj, to whom I am particularly attached, is from Bellinzona and therefore starting to work with him and also having a friendship relationship I was often in Ticino. I have to say that I didn't have any difficulty settling in, when I moved here I immediately felt great and I'm very happy, I'd say I've found my peace. You know, mine is still a long career, initially Milan helped me a lot, but when I started to gain popularity, you may remember the historic group Club Dogo, I understood that I needed to find an oasis where I could just be myself, where I could think without feeling the influence of others. I decided to live in the greenery, in the mountains, seven minutes from Lugano, in the midst of nature, a source of inspiration and meditation».
It seems to speak to two opposite personalities: Gué, a successful rapper, and the more meditative man. I also imagine that you have a little more privacy here…
«Exactly (he smiles), people here are more discreet, not like in Italy, so I can live my life almost anonymously. Lugano is a perfect city for anyone who travels and wants a bit of tranquillity, I lack for nothing here. In the summer it is a small Montecarlo, the winter months are a bit tough, except for the Christmas period, but I organize myself, invite friends over or simply take the time to watch some TV, since I don't i never do. The point is that here I always have the choice of staying calm or going out, in Milan it's absolutely not like that, there's always something going on: concerts, parties... and therefore you feel obliged to show up, you know how it is... Then, like having said that, I often go back to Milan, but I see my future in Switzerland, which is why I applied for a Swiss passport».
I know it's very challenging, you've already started studying (we laugh)…
«Of course, I've seen that it's difficult and that's why I'm studying a lot, I think I'll also participate in training evenings, I'm intrigued... I'll tell you».
In addition to your passion for music, you have others, I don't know… like cooking…
«Absolutely not cooking (we laugh), but I do many other things, mine core it is undoubtedly music, but in Switzerland I also have two jewelery shops, I am a partner in a disco, a restaurant, together with other guys I have a streetwear brand and now I am experimenting with a broadcast, a new experience that is involving me Very".
How do you manage to do everything you do, do you have a trusted assistant?
«I have to say that I'm quite independent and I like being involved on several fronts, maybe that's also why I resisted so much as a rapper. You have to think that currently I don't do the numbers of twenty-somethings, but I'm still a competitor, I have the best contracts. Becoming an adult, continuing to write, evolving, I have expanded my audience, I have kept those who are now forty, but also conquered the younger ones and those who have re-evaluated me, in a nutshell, I don't want to sound banal, I have had a life to sow and now I'm reaping. Do you know what I would like my goal to be? Don't laugh (pause)… I wish I could become a Jay-Z of the poor, a reference figure for my genre, stay in the history of rap».
You know that hearing you talk makes me a little apprehensive, it can't be easy having to fight every day against unbridled competition to always stay on top…
«You have to be strong, in music there is a space of time when you sing, but then not all singers stay, many are forgotten. I don't have a material ambition, I'm willing to have less, but as I said I would like to continue living through my words, my lyrics. Then you also need to know how to sell yourself, seize the right opportunities, know how to take advantage of all the stages.
(We laugh) «Not now, but in a few years why not…, I was there as a guest and I really liked it».
May I ask why the choice to call you Gué Pequeno?
«Real names, if you are not a songwriter, are not used, mine is what is called a stage name. Gué derives from sguercio, because I was born with an eyelid malformation, so I wanted to start from a weak point, which as a child led me to be teased, and transform it into a strength. This is my real success."
But now you have removed Pequeno and your name is simply Gué…
«I took it off because my record company kept saying enough, it's time to take it off and therefore, since I've grown up... I've decided to do without it (smiles). Now I am simply Gué».
Returning to the rap lyrics, it must be said that for those not used to the genre they can seem a bit raw and perhaps overly explicit…
«It's difficult to answer you, because there isn't a rule, clearly if we talk about rock and roll we talk about sex and drugs and this doesn't scandalize anyone, but there are actually groups that abuse them, but rap - we must remember this - is a heritage street, it's frank, true, you can use very explicit and even dark words, but at the same time write verses of an unexpected sensitivity. It always depends on the context in which you insert certain words, for example I can write a text with a strong sexual connotation, but full of quotations and analyzing it you understand that there is something else behind the initial, superficial crudeness. The new generation shouldn't be condemned, some of them have less substance than those with more experience, but they are good at creating new melodies, so they can appear tougher, also because they are still kids».
You were one of the first to have an independent label and with your production company you launched important names such as Fedez, Gali, Salmo. What kind of relationship exists between you?
«We all know each other, but we don't see each other, we can have disagreements, provoke each other, but we respect each other because we are all professionals anyway and we live on music. I have a special bond with the younger ones, because in me they see someone they can confide in. I've lived years of poverty, I've had to fight day after day, while some of these young people become overnight millionaires… and that's a problem. When success literally falls upon you, you feel invincible, but basically you don't have the means to manage the new life and many of them, at some point, can't take it anymore. For this reason, to those who ask me, I gladly give help, not so much musically, but of life, of how to survive a dream that suddenly takes over reality and is even bigger than imagined».
I have to tell you the truth, I imagined you different, at times you even seem shy, in contrast to Gué on stage…
“Maybe I'm not exactly shy, but I'm reserved. I'd say I'm quite a delicate soul, even if I don't physically give that impression (smiles). After all, music is a bit like acting, music amplifies what you want to show, on stage I am very different from how I am in private. I would say that I am a calm boy, in short, not one who jumps on the table (amused)».
And your next projects, next album?
«I have a new record coming out for next year… so in a very short time».
Can you tell us something more… the title?
“I don't want to say anything yet, but I have worked with an eminence of my kind, a producer. Then I'm also having this broadcast experience that I told you about earlier and I hope it becomes a real show... in short, 2023 will be quite a challenging year".
The time for the interview ends, there would still be many things to discover and ask, but deep down Gué tells his story in his songs and perhaps the best way to get to know him is to listen to his words.
